Prefabricated building



Dec. 2, 1941. 4.L L. HOFFMAN 2,264,377

PREFABRICATED BUILDING Filed DSC. 13, 1939 y ATTORNEY Patented Dec. 2, 1941 UNITED s'rlrras PATENT OFFICE 2.264.311 rmaramca'ran Bumumc John L. Hoffman, St. Paul, Minn.

Application December 1s, 1939, serai No. 308,984

(ci. zn-4) 4 Claims.

This invention relates to buildings of the kind commonly referred to as "prefabrleated houses, which are made up of lmits, elements or parts of such design that they can be fabricated or constructed at a. factory and thereafter transported to a distant point and combined or assembled so as to produce a complete building that can be constructed at a lower cost and erected in less time than a building made up of conventional building materials that are fabricated or combined on the job.

'I'he invention generally pertains to wood buildings in which the structural units are so built and so combined as to reduce the labor and time of erection or asembly of buildings. The structural units consist of wood, plywood or building board panels secured, to members such as spaced studding. The panels are so constructed that the panels or lmits are locked together when I properly assembled.

One of the'main objects of the invention is to reduce the cost of prefabricated building units and reduce the cost of erection of such units. To this end a prefabricated building is made up of side wall units, partitions, and ceiling units that are completed at the time they leave the factory, and which are of such design and construction that when they arrive at their destination they can be quickly and easily assembled.

Another object is to provide an eilicient, nonstandardized, prefabricated building of low cost and attractive appearance Whose general design, dimensions and arrangement of rooms can be easily varied to suit the preference or requirements of an architect or prospective purchaser. These and other objects and advantages of my improved construction will hereinafter be pointed out.

In the accompanying drawing is shown for purposes of illustration an embodiment which the invention may assume in practice.

In the drawing:

Figure 1 is a view of part of a. house employing the invention.

Figure 2 is an elevational view -of one of the prefabricated panels.

Figure 3 is a top plan view of the panel.

Figure 4 is a. view of rafter roof construction.

Figure 5 is a view of a corner construction.

In the drawing there is shown embodied in a wall the general construction of units described and claimed herein. On foundation I are placed joists Il to which are secured the prefabricated panels. The panels consist of studding I and I8 spaced generally on 1 centers but it is understood that they may he spaced in any desired manner.

'Generally there is securedv to the inner face of the studding plaster base material. The plaster base material may be replaced with rigid ber board, plywood, etc., for a dry wall construction. The opposite face of the studding has secured thereto sheathing, siding and the like. In Figure 2 the outside of the studding is shown to be covered with shiplapped or otherwise 'jointed siding members I6 and I1 which may be plywood or rigid fiber board. The oor plate I3 `is offset in the manner shown so as to interlock with the adjacent units. The siding i1 is preferably oiset as shown in'Figure 2l whereby adjacent panels may be interlocked. It is to be understood that the siding need not be oiset to interlock, but if they are a nailing strip I4 is generally used to support the siding or sheathing I6 particularly prior to erection. The iioor of the building is indicated at I2.

Ceiling plate I3 is generally of the length of the units and after they are secured in place top plate 2| of random length is secured thereto. On the top plate 2l are placed ceiling panels consisting of surface board 22, ceiling joist 23 and nailing cleat 24. In Figure 4 is shown a rafter panel' consisting of rafter 25 and plate 26.

The bottom board on each panel on both sides is left o at the factory so that the panels can quickly' be secured in place on the job. After the panels are secured in place the bottom boards are Athen attached and cover the opening 20. If desired, the panels of the type disclosed in Figures 2 and 3 may have an insulation of the fill 32, 2l, insulation 30, members 28. and 34 and inner surface 3l. By acorner' construction shown in Figure 5 the insulation material meets in the corner so that there is not left any uninsulated spaces.

Y It is to be understood that many variations can be made that fall within the scope of the apto be .pended claims by those skilled in the art.

The term walls as used in the specification and claims means walls, ceiling and oors.

What I claim is:

1. A prefabricated building structure comprising spaced apart studs, covering material secured to one face of the studs, boards secured to other face o! the studs, a plurality of the boards offset and thereby forming spaced apart tongue-like members. and a base plate oiset whereby it extends beyond the edge of the structure opposed to the edge on which tongue-like lmembers extend.

2. A prefabricated building unit comprising spaced apart studs, covering material secured to one face of the studs, boards secured to the other face of the studs, a plurality of the board oiset to form spaced apart tongues extending beyond one edge of the unit and a base plate oset on the opposite edge of the unit to the tongues.

3. A prefabricated building structure for use in forming walls comprising spaced apart studlike members, covering material secured to one face of the stud-like members, a plurality oi covering units secured to other face of the stud-like members, at least three of said units offset to form spaced tongues extending' beyond one edge of the structure, and a base plate offset to extend beyond edge opposite to the edge on which the tongues extend.

4. A prefabricated vbuilding unit comprising spaced studs, covering material secured to one face of the studs, boards secured to opposite face of the'studs, a plurality of the board offset to form spaced tongues, base plate offset to form a tongue extending in opposite direction to the spaced tongues, and insulating material between the covering material and the boards.

JOHN L. HOFFMAN. 

